Wood borer treatment in Knysna

Run your hand over an old Knysna yellowwood floor and you'll often feel them: small round holes, some dark with age, some with a crisp, clean edge. The clean ones are the ones that matter.

Wood borer in a Knysna home is treated after an inspection that answers one question first: is the infestation active, or is it old damage from years ago? Active beetles leave fresh, pale powder under clean-edged holes, and they need treating. Darkened holes with no new dust under them are old damage. The wood might need a strength check, but there's nothing left to treat. Once we know what's active and which beetle it is, we treat the affected timber by spraying exposed surfaces and injecting active holes in thicker pieces, and deal with infested furniture separately so it doesn't spread.

We treat wood borer in homes, holiday houses, guest houses, churches and heritage buildings across Knysna and the surrounding forest areas.

Why Knysna has so much wood borer

Knysna has more old timber than almost anywhere else in the region. The town grew around the forest and the timber trade, and many of its houses have original yellowwood, stinkwood or pine floors, timber ceilings, beams, staircases and built-in cupboards, as well as furniture that has been in families for generations. Old timber, damp forest air, and roof spaces nobody has been into for years give wood-boring beetles everything they need, and time to settle in.

The beetles we find

• Common furniture beetle. Small round holes about one to two millimetres across, in pine floors, older furniture, skirtings, picture frames and plywood. A gritty powder falls from active holes. This is the beetle behind most "woodworm" in Knysna's old floors and antiques
• Powderpost beetles. Very small holes and a fine, flour-like powder in hardwood floors, door frames, furniture and imported timber items. They attack the starchy sapwood and often turn up in newer hardwood furniture too
• European house borer. Larger oval holes in softwood roof timbers, with the larvae spending years inside the wood. It's the most serious of the three because it weakens structural timber, and it's why Western Cape property sales come with a beetle certificate

Our wood borer beetles profile has photos of the holes and dust each one leaves.

How we treat wood borer

1. Inspection Floors, roof timbers, ceilings, staircases, built-in cupboards and furniture. We identify the beetle and map where the activity is.
2. Surface treatment Bare, unsealed roof timbers, floor joists and beams get a product that penetrates the wood and kills larvae as they tunnel and adults as they emerge.
3. Injection Where larvae are deep in thick timber, or where a surface is varnished or polished and can't be sprayed, product is injected into active exit holes.
4. Furniture and loose items Infested furniture, frames and wooden objects are treated separately, sometimes by fumigation, so they don't re-infest the house.
5. Structural advice Where timber has lost strength, a carpenter or builder needs to replace it. We'll show you which pieces.

Varnished floors and finished timber

A common worry in Knysna homes is the finish on beautiful old floors. Sealed and varnished surfaces stop sprays soaking in, which is why injection into the active holes is often used instead, and why we look carefully at what finish is on the floor before we start. If you're planning to sand and re-seal a floor, that's a good time to treat it, while the timber is bare. Let us know before the sanding is done.

Antiques and furniture

Antique furniture, inherited pieces and second-hand finds are a common source of beetles. A cupboard with fresh dust under it can infest the floor it stands on. Move an infested piece away from timber floors if you can, put paper underneath to watch for fresh dust, and have it treated. Check new arrivals from auctions and second-hand shops before they come into the house.

Selling a Knysna house

If you're selling, the beetle certificate inspection will look for active infestations in the accessible timber. A house with active wood borer will need treatment and a re-inspection before the certificate is issued. Treating ahead of a sale, or booking the inspection as soon as the offer is accepted, avoids delays. See beetle certificates in Knysna.

Wood borer or termites?

Termites leave soil tunnels and hollowed timber with no exit holes. Wood borer leaves round exit holes and powder. If you're seeing soil tubes on walls or posts, see termite control in Knysna instead.

What it costs

We price on the amount of timber involved, which beetle it is, how accessible the timber is, whether we're spraying or injecting, how much furniture is involved, and whether any timber needs replacing first. A few active holes in one floor is a small job. A whole roof structure with European house borer is a large one. We quote after the inspection.

See our main wood borer treatment page, or pest control in Knysna for everything else. Phone 044 012 5011 or ask for an inspection. A clear WhatsApp photo of the holes, with a coin for scale, helps us judge whether it looks active.